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Such a frustrating disappointment

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

'SAND CASTLE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A war drama about a US Army rifleman, and his squad, who are trying to restore water to a dangerous Iraqi village. It's based on the real life experiences of it's screenwriter, Chris Roessner, and the script was featured on the 2012 Black List of unproduced screenplays. The film was directed by Fernando Coimbra, and it stars Nicholas Hoult, Logan Marshall-Green, Henry Cavill, Glen Powell, Tommy Flanagan, Beau Knapp and Neil Brown Jr.. It was released by Netflix through it's streaming site, and it's gotten mixed reviews from critics. I found it to be mostly well made, and somewhat effective, but it would have been a lot better with a little more character development. Private Matt Ocre (Hoult) is a young rifleman in the US Army, who enlisted (in 2001) in order to get financial aid for college. When the Iraq war starts (in 2003) he desperately wants to quit though. He slams the door of a Humvee on his hand, in an attempt to get sent home even. His efforts don't succeed, and he's instead sent to Baqubah, with his squad, to repair a broken water system there. Many of the locals don't want their help though, and Matt has to witness multiple casualties to his unit. This causes him great depression and frustration, naturally. The movie has all the makings of a good war film, it's well cast (Hoult, Marshall-Green and Cavill are all good in their roles) and it's nicely directed. It has well shot action scenes too, and seemingly effective emotional drama. I didn't know enough about the characters though, to really care for what they were going through. Technically the movie appears really well made, but it's just lacking enough character development to make it really effective.

Lots of war-type films have come out over the years, and most are OK to meh, but something about this one was done better than most. Aside from the exceptional directing by Fernando Coimbra, it's not like it had top actors in it, but his directing gave it a feel of a documentary/drama, and added interesting action and drama twist to it. Better than I expected, although slowly paced. It's a 7/10 from me

Great war film to watch. It doesn't just flood the film with meaningless action but shows a complex story about the difficult relations between the U.S. soldiers and the Iraqi community. You can really relate to the main character Pvt. Ocre (Nicholas Hoult) as he experiences the challenges and brutality of war. Some parts of the plot were a bit simple, but overall I would recommend it. Some parts can be a bit brutal though, so be prepared for that.

I really liked the idea of this film. Unfortunately as soon as I saw a Sergeant Major with a pot belly, long hair and a stupidly long moustache I switched off. Genuinely I turned it off. It took me a fortnight before I'd give it another go. However I'm pleased I did. Once I ignored the detail and just accepted the plot I really enjoyed it.It annoys me that someone would go to the effort of making a film and ignore really simple military detail that massively detracts from the film. And I'm not talking about military detail that is really obscure but, come on, even as a Brit I know there is no way on earth the US military would allow a Sergeant Major to look like he does in this.What could have been an excellent film with a really good message ruined by someone not wanting to cut their hair to play a part.